Ms Kathleen Addy

Voters in the upcoming elections have been advised to be mindful of the source of money shared by politicians.

According to her, such monies were possibly from drug deals, human trafficking, organ trafficking, gun running which she said were negative and the country or individuals would not want to be involved with.

The Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Kathleen Addy gave the advice on Wednesday at a press briefing dubbed ‘NCCE election 2024 parliamentary candidates’ dialogues.’

The dialogues are important fixtures on the commission’s election year calendar and fulfills the requirements regarding functions of the commission.

According to her, the source of most of these monies shared by politicians were questionable.

“If politicians go and take this money and come and share to you, it means as a country we now have a relationship with people who are anticipating organised crime, and the consequences are severe and dire,” she added.

She mentioned that, research had shown that, for parliamentary primaries, candidates need to raise between $200,000 and $250, 000 minimum to be able to successfully execute a parliamentary primary, adding that that money was just being shared to citizens.

Ms  Addy  said Ghanaians therefore have a role to play  in ensuring that  the culture of monitisation was  expunged from  the  country’s political  culture,  and  rather  build  strong democratic  groups and  set  rigorous criteria for those who seek power.

That, she said will enable politicians to deliver, adding that when voters receive money, it will be difficult to vote for candidates who have the interest of the people at heart.

Touching on the dialogues, she said the commission has successfully commenced   the 2024 Parliamentary Candidates’ Dialogues across the 275 constituencies in the country.

 She said these dialogues were part of an ongoing commitment to foster an informed electorate and promote peaceful, issue-based elections in Ghana.

“The NCCE Parliamentary Candidates’ Dialogues (PCDs) are platforms for interaction at the constituency level and provides avenues for candidates to articulate their vision and policies for the constituency they want to lead and engage with constituents on issues of national concern.

Ms Addy said the significance of the dialogue included encouraging civic engagement, enhancing political accountability, fostering peaceful elections, strengthening democratic institutions, bridging the communication gap and gives NCCE the opportunity to remind all citizens of the role of parliamentarians.

She mentioned that some parliamentary candidates of the major political parties were refusing to participate in the dialogues, citing a plethora of excuses and described it as unfortunate.

“The NCCE is urging all political parties to ensure that their parliamentary candidates actively participate in the dialogues. It is also an opportunity to highlight the policies of the parties,” Ms Addy said.

By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu